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Tennis Balls Banned Outside RNC, But Not Guns; Funeral For Dallas Sergeant Michael Smith; Clinton Campaigns with Potential VP Pick Kaine. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[15:30:00] MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Let's not forget that there are a lot of speakers that are going to be plugged in at different times, what-have-you. But I do think you are right, we are going to see some surprises.

Look, Donald Trump has not only proven to be a very adept presidential candidate -- say what you will about him, you like him or don't like him -- but he is also a showman and he knows how to sell himself. So, Brooke, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some surprises next week.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: On the showman side, now, we've been talking about it. It's almost been, you know, this public audition of potential V.P. choices. You know, all talk today, we've been watching the governor's mansion in Indianapolis. Mike Pence.

PRESTON: Right.

BALDWIN: But, you know, no one has made -- there has not been the phone call from Donald Trump to Governor Pence to necessarily seal the deal. What are you hearing?

PRESTON: Well, Brooke, isn't it amazing that we're seeing this play out so much in public?

BALDWIN: Yes.

PRESTON: Look, we haven't seen certainly not in the past. I can't recall we're actually seeing these very public auditions by Newt Gingrich, and Mike Pence, and Chris Christie. What we know is that, let's look at the sign that are pointing towards Pence. We saw Newt Gingrich talked publicly about Mike Pence. We saw Chris Christie seemed to indicate that it's not going to be him.

We've heard from our sources that it is going to be -- or it seems to be indicating it is going towards Mike Pence. So, listen, who is Mike Pence? I think most Americans are probably wondering.

He is a very conservative governor from Indiana. He was once very powerful in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a conservative. However, there is some concerns among social conservatives who are very upset at him about how he wavered on religious freedom. But I've got to tell you, I was hearing that yesterday, they were trying to push back, these social conservatives, about Mike Pence, being the pick. Having conversations with social conservatives today they seem to be

realizing that they're going to need to rally around Mike Pence.

BALDWIN: OK. Mark Preston, see you in Cleveland. Thank you.

Speaking of the city of Cleveland, it's increasing security measures at the Quicken Loans Arena. And although Ohio is an open carry state, the actual arena does not allow firearms inside. But police are most concerned about the 1.7 square mile, what they call the event zone. This is outside the arena where gun owners can arrive armed.

Though firearms are OK in the event zone, officials have just released a list of 72 items banned from the space just outside of the convention door. So, here is a sampling of what you can't have: air rifles, paint ball guns, blasting caps, switch blades, knives with a blade longer than two and a half inches, no billy clubs, swords, hatchets, axes, sling shots, BB or pellet guns, metal knuckles, nunchucks, don't take them, mace or pepper spray, shovels, fireworks, rockets. That's a no-no.

Satellite application equipment, drones, aerosol cans, umbrellas with metal tips, no water guns, no water cannons, ropes, chains, cables, wire longer than six feet. That's a no-no. Blast bottles, ornaments, light bulbs, padlocks, gas masks, no tents, no sleeping bags, no mattresses, stoves, coolers, ice chests, laser, non-plastic containers, bottles or cans, hammers, crowbars, canned goods and tennis balls.

One item noticeably not banned in the open carry state of Ohio -- guns.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:47] BALDWIN: Friends and family celebrating the lives of two people killed in last week's violence.

In Dallas, a public farewell for Sergeant Michael Smith, a police officer being remembered as a patriot, a perfectionist and a peacemaker. Smith was one of five officers killed in that brutal police ambush just one week ago today. The Dallas police chief with a message to Smith's family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DAVID BROWN, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: My brothers in blue, in khaki, let's stand.

(APPLAUSE)

This is your family now. This is your family. Thank you, brothers and sisters. And we're here for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Also, somber day in St. Paul, Minnesota, funeral for Philando Castile, the driver shot by police whose death sparked protests across this country. You see there, the horse-drawn carriage, brought his casket to the cathedral of St. Paul.

Our cameras captured an unscheduled stop by Hillary Clinton as she laid flowers at the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington. Making a stop in honor of the five police officers killed in Dallas. We'll speak live to a police officer here coming up.

But first, let's go to this Hillary Clinton event with a potential V.P. pick here, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: -- wonderful presentation from a great example of our DREAMers earlier. Give it up for the DREAMers!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And to so -- right here!

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

We've got fantastic elected officials. If I named them all, that would take up the entire speech. But I got to say to our members of Congress right here, Don Beyer, Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, give them a big round of applause.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

[15:40:03] So, are we ready for Hillary?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I think that's a yes. I think that's a yes.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Yes.

CROWD: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

KAINE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

So, a little bit of a vocabulary lesson. If you want to say "ready for Hillary" in Espanol --

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

When this great group of grassroots folks around this country, before Secretary Clinton decided that she was going to run, formed and chose the name "Ready for Hillary". And a lot of them were right here in Virginia, right?

It was -- it was very exciting for me that they chose that name and let me tell you why. Ready for Hillary, powerful phrase. And we were so excited when she got in the race. But if you say it in Spanish, it's (SPEAKING SPANISH)

And the word ready in Spanish is a little bit different than the word ready in English. So if we say in English we're ready for Hillary, it usually means we're waiting or it is kind of about the time I'm ready to go to the store, something like that.

But when I lived in Honduras, the best compliment you could pay to someone was not to say they were inteligente, nobody ever said that about me, intelligent. Was that not to say that they were guapo or guapa, beautiful. Was not to say that they were amable, friendly. It was to say that they were listo, to say that they were ready.

Because in Spanish, in Honduras, ready means more than just on time. It means well-prepared. You're ready to get on the battlefield. You're ready to fight.

You're somebody that can be counted on.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And so, we were -- and we were ready for Hillary because Hillary's ready for us. Hillary's ready for Virginia. Hillary's ready to be president. Hillary's ready to be our leader. Hillary's ready to make history.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And that's why we're ready for Hillary.

Secretary Clinton just came from a very tough day yesterday in Springfield, Illinois. I hope you had a chance to hear her talk about very difficult issues of violence and division and fear and anxiety, but also of hope and unification. It was the kind of speech that you, frankly, don't want to have to give, but tough things happen. And then leaders have to rise to the occasion. And she is a leader. She is a leader.

And so she went to Springfield, a city that's really important in our history and she laid out the right way to lead, which is about bringing us together. I know she's going to talk about that. What I want to do -- what I want to do is just ask you three quick questions, then I'll introduce Secretary Clinton.

And I'm asking you questions because this is a college. I mean, this is like a test. All right?

The questions are about the presidency and they're about our nation. So here they are. On the economy, on the economy, do you want a "you're fired" president or a "you're hired" president? Right, OK?

Now, what is Donald Trump known for? "You're fired." In fact, I predict after this whole thing is over, what will be remembered about the failed candidacy of Donald Trump is "you're fired" and maybe one other phrase, "Trump U." OK?

But he's a "you're fired guy," outsourcing jobs, stiffing contractors, being against minimum wage, being against equal pay for women, fighting with labor. He's a "you're fired" guy. If you want a "you're fired" president, you've got a choice.

But we're making a different choice. We want a "you're hired" president. A "you're hired" president.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

[15:45:03] It starts - it starts with fairness, equal pay for women, raising the minimum wage so that you can live on it, infrastructure and building and creating jobs and growing this nation and doing it in a fairway, education from pre-K to post grad, the debt-free college plan, anybody out here like debt-free college?

All right. I told Secretary Clinton that Virginians were pretty smart. So, they -- you guys seem to know that like a "you're hired" president is better than a "you're fired" president, OK?

So, we'll go to question two. America's role in the world. Now this is important to all of us. And the president embodies us in the world, so do you want a trash talker president or a bridge builder president?

That's what's at stake. Donald Trump trash talks women. He trash talks folks with disabilities. He trash talks --

(BOOING)

He trash talks Latinos. To him it doesn't matter --

(BOOING)

To him it doesn't matter if you are a new immigrant or you're a worker who's been here for a long time or a DREAMer, or if you're Latina governor of New Mexico, or if you are a federal judge. If you're a Latino, he's going to trash talk you. He trash talks faiths like Muslims and wants to have a Muslim ban. He trash talks allies and leaders around the world. He trash talks alliances that the U.S. has like NATO.

I'll tell you one that gets me steamed -- Donald Trump wants to be commander in chief.

CROWD: No!

KAINE: Donald Trump is a guy who wants to be commander in chief who has said repeatedly, the American military is a disaster.

CROWD: No!

KAINE: Hold on a second, 1.6 million young men and women volunteer to serve in a time of war, now stretching 15 years, and you have the guts to call them a disaster? I mean I don't want somebody who trash talks our troops and treats them with disrespect and contempt. He even said about John McCain, who worked with Senator Clinton on the Armed Services Committee, and has high praise for her as an armed services committee member, Donald Trump said about John McCain that he was no war hero because he was captured and was held as a prisoner of war.

BALDWIN: All right. So, Tim Kaine here, firing up the crowd there in Annandale, Virginia, ahead of Hillary Clinton. He is former mayor, former governor, former lieutenant governor. He was head of the state Democratic Party and now he is a senator and potentially -- potentially -- a running mate for Hillary Clinton.

Let me bring in CNN politics reporter M.J. Lee. Talk more about him. And Jeff Zeleny is there at that event in Annandale, Virginia.

But, M.J., let me just turn and ask you first. You wrote a column about how just a horrible day in our country and especially in the state of Virginia. I was there. It was horrendous. It sort of paved this way for him in office.

MJ LEE, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Right. It is so interesting because Tim Kaine has sort of gotten stuck with the label of "the boring guy," "the nice guy". But if you talk to his allies and his fans, they will point out that he has a very impressive and long resume. He ran the state of Virginia.

And when he was governor of Virginia, Virginia Tech happened in 2007. As you know very well, that was the biggest mass shooting until Orlando happened last month. And you talk to people in Virginia who sort of watched him lead in the aftermath of Virginia Tech and they will say he came right home. He had just flown to Japan for a trade mission. Came right home and sort of began the process immediately of playing the role of healer in chief.

I think a lot of people sort of looked to that and that kind of leadership -- certainly his fans in the Democratic Party -- and they say this I especially relevant right now because the country is grappling so much with mass shootings, shootings involving police. These kinds of issues that have people really worked up and they feel like he's someone who can take the stage and make a speech that is unifying and they feel like that comes off as presidential and that in that way, he would be a good pick for Hillary Clinton.

BALDWIN: Jeff, M.J. makes all excellent point in talking about, you know, the boxes that he would check. And I know we were talking so much about Donald Trump, ahead of the Republican Convention.

But tell me more about when we could hear when Hillary Clinton chooses and who else is on the table.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, we're about eight days away from an announcement or decision by Secretary Clinton. She intends to make this announcement immediately following the Republican convention, I'm told. She has the benefit of seeing who Donald Trump is going to pick.

[15:50:02] So, she, of course, can adjust, correction here. But we're told this is limited now to just a handful of people. Tim Kaine, of course, high on that list, I'm told. Most Democrats believe he is at the top, but only Hillary Clinton knows that herself. I'm told she has not yet ordered them or made a decision. Other people on the list includes Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio. He

is a progressive fighter from left-wing of the party, going to help in Ohio. Corey Booker from New Jersey, also is very close to Hillary Clinton. She likes his energy, I'm told. She likes what he can bring to the party.

Elizabeth Warren still on the list, but her aides do not believe she will be picked. Most Clinton supporters don't believe she has in the mix now, because as one told me, you get Elizabeth Warren regardless. She'll be out there campaigning against Donald Trump. She doesn't need to be on the ticket here.

One other person, the most loyal person on the list, Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor, the current agriculture who's very close to Hillary Clinton. He would be a safe pick that would not affect the balance of power here.

Brooke, all of these things are being considered here, we'll know a week from tomorrow -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right. Jeff, thank you. M.J., thank you. That's the Dems.

Coming next, though, move away from politics and talk about police. We'll talk live with the Florida officer who was moved to tears by a simple random act of kindness recently, in the wake of what's happened in this country. We will talk to him, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Despite battling cerebral palsy, a young boy dreamed to become an announcer for the Chicago White Sox. And he made it happened all thanks to an unexpected turning point in his life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BENETTI, WHITE SOX ANNOUNCER: I was in elementary school at the time. The assignment was, I wonder what I'll be in 20 years. And I thought, well, I wonder if I could be the Sox announcer.

He got him in the outside corner.

I'm Jason Benetti. I'm the TV play by play announcer for the Chicago White Sox.

I was born prematurely. I got sick when I was young. I was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. It led to a couple different surgeries. Then when I went to elementary school, I'd either have a cast on or some inserts in my shoes.

[15:55:01] I played in band. I was first chair tuba. Part of being in band was being in marching band. I didn't have the strength for that and the coordination. The band director said, look, why don't you be the announcer for our sets?

I went to Syracuse University. I was a broadcast journalism major. And I did a lot of radio until I started doing TV. There was a worry of, will people want me on TV because I can't look directly into the camera?

I actually forget how I walk until I walk past a mirror and then I think like, why did we invent mirrors? There were some hurdles and now it's really not an issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the message that Jason sends people is that anybody can do anything. I don't think he views himself as an inspiration, but he truly is.

BENETTI: If I can help a person do something tomorrow that they didn't do today, that's what I want to do.

Up into the stratosphere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: With all of the focus and chasm between police ands the black community, a story of unexpected kindness caught our attention, as it did for a lot of folks. We're sharing words of Officer Scott Patrick of the Sarasota, Florida, police department. It reads in part, "I went inside the police department with tears running down my face and had to take a few minutes to compose myself in the hallway. This man's random act of kindness overwhelmed me."

Officer Patrick joining me now.

Officer, nice to have you on. Welcome.

OFFICER SCOTT PATRICK, SARASOTA, FL: Thank you so much, Brooke. Nice to be on.

BALDWIN: What happened? Tell me about this SUV that stopped.

PATRICK: Yes. While I was walking into the police station to turn in paperwork, a car pulled up, we have our station by our courthouse, and people ask where parking is or where the courthouse is located, and stopped in the middle of traffic with traffic behind him. As I was walking, I noticed and then he honked his horn and I turned and started walking towards his car.

And he got out and asked, he said, "Thank you, officer for everything you do" and he asked if he could give me a hug and it caught me quite off guard. I wasn't expected that. I said yes and I walked up towards him, he gave me a huge hug.

He was quite a lot bigger than I was. I'm 5'8" and he's about 6'3" and he gave me a huge hug and that caught me so off-guard with everything that has been in the media lately with all of the negativity about law enforcement officers and all the things going on in the country, it was something that just got me right there. I had tears going down my face.

BALDWIN: Tears going down your face, you have been an offer for a number of years. Nothing like this has ever happened to you. It's a wonderful moment.

But I am wondering with what happened in Dallas, are you worried that fewer young people will not want to follow in your footsteps and be police and be police officer? I mean, how's recruitment?

PATRICK: It is a worry for all of us on law enforcement. Unfortunately with the climate and negative media publicity about law enforcement in general, it has hurt recruitment. I know it's hard to get people to want to do this job. We put on a bullet proof vest, strap on a badge and a gun, and say goodbye to our families in the morning and, unfortunately, sometimes we don't come back. With the negative press and just all the negative feelings that come out often and we don't hear thank you very much. It is hard right now --

BALDWIN: Let me be part of the positive press and say thank you. Let me say thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you do.

PATRICK: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Just quickly, you know, listen, I'm not a perfect person, no one is perfect, we all -- do you ever have any regrets or any interaction on a street or anything you thought or the way you acted in your years as an office that's really helped you become the officer who you are today.

PATRICK: You know, I served in the military before I became a police officer, and my outlook on everything that I do, I don't care what color, race, religion you are, I treat everyone equally. We're all humans and we're all here doing this job because we care about America, and we care about our cities, our counties and where you work. We care about our -- the citizens that we deal with on a daily basis. And I just wish that people would realize that. I think it's getting o more and more and it's a great thing to see.

But we do this because we care about our country and we care about our people. It's not for the money or any of that.

BALDWIN: We're grateful for you in Sarasota, Florida. Officer Scott Patrick, thank you so much for sharing your story. I don't know who that man was that wrapped his arms around you and said thank you, but I'm grateful for him as well.

SCOTT: I am as well. His name was Washington and I'm very grateful for him as well.

BALDWIN: Washington, thank you, Washington.

Officer, thank you so much.

And thanks all of you for being here with me in New York. We'll turn things over to Jake Tapper.

"THE LEAD" starts now.